2020
SUMMER INTENSIVE
First Exposures (San Francisco, California, USA)
First Exposures revamped their Summer Intensive Residency
program to be delivered virtually for 29 mentees in response
to the COVID 19 pandemic. These mentees worked closely
with mentors to take their photography and editing skills to a
new level. Through virtual sessions, mentors used a project-
based curriculum to teach new skills that allowed the mentees
to work confidently towards a tangible project goal to produce
media pieces while in quarantine. These sessions included activities that required students to get up and do a
lesson exercise, and utilized breakout rooms for peer-feedback. The content and delivery structure style of these
sessions was evaluated weekly and revamped accordingly to the needs and the learning styles of the young
artists. The culmination of this project resulted in three online exhibitions of their work.
DreamYard (Bronx, New York, USA)
The DreamYard team reimagined their paid summer Work-
Based Learning (WBL) internship program for a digital
space in response to the COVID 19 pandemic. Through
this internship, 388 young creatives were divided into
two cohorts to best support with resources to complete
their internships and create digital media portfolios in
their respective creative fields using a project-based
learning structure. Internships focused on: Human and
Community Centered Design, Music Production, and Journalism and Gaming, where each young creative was paired
with an employer within the creative industry to produce multiple media pieces. In addition, each young creative
was provided with a mentor who is currently studying in the same creative field to give guidance and feedback on
their portfolios. The aim of this internship is to provide young creatives with workplace experience and digital media
portfolios to utilize for future employment opportunities and secondary education.
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